Participation and Policy Implementation

Paper $42.95ISBN: 9781861346056
Published
January 2005
For sale in North and South America only

Cloth $110.00ISBN: 9781861346063
Published
January 2005
For sale in North and South America only

Evaluation has become a central tool in the development of contemporary social policy. Its widespread popularity is based on the need to provide evidence of the effectiveness of policies and programmes. This book sees evaluation as an inherently political activity, as much about forms of governance as scientific practice. Using a wide range of examples from neighbourhood renewal, health and social care and other aspects of social policy, it relates practical issues in evaluation design to their political contexts.With contributions from leading academics and evaluation practitioners, the book considers key issues in the politics of evaluation including: governance and evaluation; participatory evaluation; partnerships and evaluation; and learning from evaluation.The politics of evaluation is important reading for academics, social researchers, policy makers, service providers and professionals across the public services as well as professional evaluators. It will be a valuable resource for students on a range of social science and professional courses and those concerned with recent developments in social research methodology.

List of tables, figures and boxesAcknowledgementsNotes on contributorsPreface

Introduction: The politics of evaluation: an overview David Taylor and Susan BallochPart One: Governance and evaluation1. Below decks on the youth justice flagship: the politics of evaluation Peter Squires and Lynda Measor2. Urban regeneration: who defines the indicators? Peter Ambrose3. Reaching for the stars: the performance assessment framework for social services Stella Law and Karin JanzonPart Two: Participation and evaluation4. Service-user involvement in evaluation and research: issues, dilemmas and destinations Peter Beresford5. Best Value but not best interests: can service users instruct mental health advocates? Hazel Platzer6. New Deal for Communities as a participatory public policy: the challenges for evaluation Kay Graham and Amanda Harris7. Discovery through dialogue and appreciative inquiry: a participative evaluation framework for project development Glynis Cousin, Judith Cousin and Frances Deepwell8. Evaluating projects aimed at supporting the parents of young people: “I didn’t learn anything new, but . . .” Debi RokerPart Three: Partnerships and evaluation9. Evaluating interagency working in health and social care: politics, policies and outcomes for service users Audrey Leathard10. Reflections on an evaluation of partnerships to cope with winter pressures Susan Balloch, Alison Penn and Helen Charnley11. Evaluating a partnership approach to supporting people into employment Hilary ArkseyPart Four: Learning from evaluation12. Evaluation and the New Deal for Communities: learning what for whom? Ian Smith and Lucy Grimshaw13. Community-led regeneration: learning loops or reinvented wheels? Mike Rowe and Marilyn Taylor14. Can social capital be a framework for participative evaluation of community health work? Jennie Fleming and Thilo Boeck15. Learning the art of evaluation: presume the presence of politics Georgie Parry-Crooke and Cathy SullivanConclusion: What the politics of evaluation implies Susan Balloch and David Taylor

Index

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